LG has announced that it’s not ready to be left trailing behind rivals in the scramble for a share of the tablet market pie, and will be launching the world’s first 3D capable tablet, the Optimus Pad.

The South Korean electronics giant confirmed its plans to enter the nascent tablet market in a press release ahead of its keynote event at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) today.

Standard specs of the Pad, AKA the G-Slate in the US, include compact 8.9-inch multi-touch panel that puts it just under an inch of the iPad's display. But it packs a 15:9 widescreen display and full HD playback at 1080p to make up for that. Better yet, it will run the all-new Honeycomb, Google`s latest iteration of Android developed specifically for tablet dimensions.

A 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor means the Optimus Pad is well covered to compete with a spate of dual core slates being announced at the MWC, including the Galaxy Tab 2 and the Motorola Xoom. But LG is packing in a few extra bells and whistles to help Pad stand apart from the pack. It will be the first tablet to hit market with a built-in 3D camera, enabling users to capture photos and videos.

Unfortunately, unlike its smaller cousin, the Optimus 3D smartphone, which is also being unveiled today, the Optimus Pad won’t support glasses-free 3D viewing on the device itself, but will provide playback on a 3D TV or shared online via YouTube 3D. Those intent on seeing 3D on the move can still grab a pair of the special specs. Just don’t blame us for looking a bit silly trying it on when you’re out and about.

Although no release or pricing details have been revealed, the US version is set to launch next month on T-Mobile so we can look forward to a spring or summer launch in Europe.

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